Heretofore, medical gowns have been designed to allow access to the body of a patient undergoing an examination or medical procedure. These gowns are oftentimes designed to have releasable panels or openings to allow medical personnel access to an underlying body part. While these types of examination gowns allow limited access, they do not provide access to a large area of the patient's body while allowing the patient to remain substantially covered. This problem may result in undue exposure of the patient and the loss of body heat during the examination or medical procedure, thereby causing the patient embarrassment as well as discomfort and the possibilities of a hypothermic reaction. Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a medical examination gown that provides access to a patient's body yet maintains a high level of body coverage. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.